There is an ever increasing need and demand for improving the security and structural integrity of entry doors. This demand is being driven by the repeated occurrences of unauthorized and forced entry through entry doors.
Typically such improvements have focused on pick resistant locks, longer and stronger dead bolts, and guard plates. Generally the strengthening and protecting of the locks and bolts have proven to be ill fated attempts at increasing the security of entry doors. The fact is these locks and bolts are mounted and anchor into very soft wooden door slabs and jambs, making their overall effectiveness minimal for security purposes when utilized without overall reinforcement. Traditionally the lock bolt is located in the door slab close to and passing through the doors edge. With this arrangement any significant force applied to the door assembly will cause it to yield and thereby allowing the dead bolt to rip through the door slab. As well the bolt extends into the door jamb through a strike plate that is held in place by short screws. These screws only extend a short distance into the door jamb to secure the strike plate around the receiving opening that is located very close to the inner edge of the jamb. The resulting orientation of the lock bolt, strike plate, and receiving opening is that a thin section of the wooden door jamb is all that remains to resist inward motion of the door slab when the lock bolt is engaged. With this arrangement a person may cause the bolt to rip through the retaining section of the door assembly or jamb merely by applying sufficient force to the door slab itself. Consequently forced entry may be gained without any disturbance or defeat of the security offered by the locking device. Furthermore, due to the construction of doors with sidelights, the jamb stanchions are only secured to the upper jamb and sill plate with minimal hardware that is easily defeated as well.
Historically one point of forced entry has been the door jamb specifically in the region where the free swinging edge of the door slab interfaces with the strike plate area of the door jamb. On doors assemblies with deadbolt locks and wooden door slabs or steel door slabs with wooden cores, the wooden jambs particularly in the area where the bolt of the locking mechanism is common to both, the door jamb is considerable inadequate. Consequently prior devices are designed for strengthening and reinforcing this area. These devices did further the structural support of the door assembly, yet overall these devices have considerable shortcomings. To begin with these devices did nothing to strengthen the overall door assembly, so any applied force was merely transferred to another point of weakness. As well these devices were frequently aesthetically unacceptable and designed for only type of application. Their design features also made installation difficult for a traditional layperson. In some cases the visibility of the device made it more easily defeated. It should also be noted that in many instances such reinforcement devices are sought after the occurrence of forced entry and damage to the doorjamb. The presence of this damage on the existing door assembly will prohibit use of the current devices and prohibit proper application of the strike plate. Furthermore none of the prior art was designed to be adjustable to accommodate jambs of varying width and height with a singular device.
Yet other prior art consists of a door shield or cover plate that wraps around the door from the interior side through the lock area to the exterior. These U-shaped door shields position on the free swinging edge of the door slab with the side panels overlying and extending along opposite sides of the door slab and are typically secured in position by the locking mechanism. Door shielding devices will offer some degree of protection to the door slab, however due to their construction are limited in security they offer. These devices are either outdated, made of material that is more decorative than strength oriented, or are only designed for one lock. As well they offer minimal security when singularly applied.
Still other devices were developed to support and strengthen the door jamb in the area of corresponding to the mounting of the hinges on vertical hung doors. Again these devices are difficult to install in the afforded space of existing doors or require significant detailed finish carpentry to properly complete application. As previously stated these devices are also not designed to be adjustable.
Though these prior art devices were realized with the best intent, the need still exists for a door security device that focuses on the overall structural inadequacy of doors mounted in wooden assemblies and their repair. The current art fails to produce a system that equally and complementary addresses the conventional points of forced entry and structural vulnerability of vertically hung door assemblies for new and existing structures. Though much of the available prior art will afford greater strength, stability and support of vertically hung hinged doors, they nevertheless suffer from a number of disadvantages:
1. The design of the current art does not permit repair of non-standard broken doorjambs while the door and jamb are still hung in place. Thus the door must be replaced or removed to allow the jamb to be repaired prior to deploying these devices.
2. In many instances the current devices cannot be used on non-standard jambs that are damaged.
3. The current devices often have visible parts that are often unsightly. This takes away from the overall aesthetics of the door.
4. The current devices that are installed on the backside of the jamb are difficult to hold in place and align while being attached. These devices will further prove their inadequacy on non-standard assemblies.
5. Due to the material thickness of these jamb reinforcement devices or the method of installation several of them require considerable finish carpentry skill to install. These requirements would make installation difficult for a layperson and prove to be impossible on non-standard jamb assemblies.
6. Many of the components are ineffective due to their singular nature and individual deployment. Using components separately limits the security they can offer.
7. Construction and materials make current devices unsightly. Their finish can also limit there application due to inability to be painted easily or at all.
8. The devices in current use are made from relatively soft material or materials that limit their application as practical security products by design.
9. Many hinge and jamb reinforcement and protectors in current use do not wrap around the jamb. Thus their overall effectiveness for securing and reinforcing the doorjamb is limited by design.
10. The current devices do not offer adjustability for door components outside the realm of modern day industry standard.